A Student Shares Her Thoughts on Teaching & Her Interest in Teaching English

by Ivan Brave


What first caught my attention about Heli was her sense of humor. During class breaks, she would show me Instagram memes from her phone, usually about Finnish and English. One day I asked her why she was interested in language, and she explained that she was studying to become an English teacher in Finland, and was soon to begin a study-abroad program in Boston. Immediately I knew she had a unique perspective on teaching, and that to find out more, I should interview her for the NYLC blog.

Heli’s life changed when she met her favorite teacher back in elementary school. Her dream is to give her own students that same feeling. This month, she begins an exchange semester at Boston’s Northeastern University, and returns to her home country in the spring. I was lucky to have chatted with her. Below is some of our conversation, where she shares her thoughts on teaching and learning, what it means to be a good student, and how teachers can equip students to think positively about learning. I've edited the transcript only slightly for brevity and flow.

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IB: One thing I like about our interactions in class is your sense of humor. You’re always sharing memes about language. Here’s one my friend sent me last week. (I show her a meme, and it reads: “If pronouncing B’s as V’s makes me Russian, then Soviet.”)

HM: Hah, “So be it.” Yes, I like memes.

IB: Where do you find memes?

HM: I follow “9gag” on Instagram. They have many about anything, all topics.

IB: Is there any recent meme you remember?

HM: There was one today about Game of Thrones.

IB: How does it go?

Immigrants Dreaming Big

New York City has one of the most diverse immigrant populations in the world. According to nyc.gov, 6 out of 10 New Yorkers are immigrants or children of immigrants. Among these children are young people like Amanda*, who is the daughter of immigrants and an immigrant herself. Her parents migrated to the United States when she was just two years old, and at the age of eight, she was able to join her parents in the United States.

Amanda grew up in the Bronx, the northern borough of New York City. She considers herself a Bronxite and a New Yorker. The Bronx is one of the most diverse boroughs in New York, in her neighborhood, Concourse Village, 41 percent of the population is foreign born. Amanda grew up among immigrants who come from different parts of the world, just like her and her family. Learning English was a challenge for Amanda in the beginning. However, because her dream was to become a doctor, she was determined to learn to speak and write English perfectly so that she can attend college.